Jazz Artist Theo Croker says “Musicians Need to Travel”

We received several responses to our recent article that mentioned Theo Croker and readers wanted to know more about him. We caught up with Theo back in the U.S. from China where he is currently making headlines in the jazz world. To get ahead in the music business, you need to travel! Traveling to other countries really can help an artist, dj, musician gain experience about the world around him. It also helps to get new fans and get attention from people outside of your immediate region. Theo Croker strongly agrees with these notions – because he did it himself. We have known Theodore Croker since his early days at Oberlin College and we are in touch with his media team often to get new ideas on what’s happening internationally.

Theo Croker is in the long tradition of jazz musicians who traveled abroad to gain more experience and hone their craft. Guess the Bob Marley saying “if you’re not living good, …travel wide” is appropriate for those trying to gain more fans overseas. Here is more of what Theo had to say:

CollegeDJ.net

How can your experience help djs, musicians, other artists?

TC

“The more you understand what your music can do for people, the more people you can touch with your music. Artists are responsible for healing the world. This purpose can never be forgotten”.

What do you see happening in the music biz?

TC

I see artists (not entertainers) gaining more power over their product. With the internet and relatively cheap costs of recording and distributing products, the independent artist is becoming its own entity.

How has traveling to China Helped You?

TC

Being in a new young market where there are no preexisting judgments on who I am or what I should be as an artist, allowed me complete freedom as a composer and performer. China allowed me to quickly learn who I was without the influence from a preexisting industry. It’s a young, lively scene where performing 6-7 nights a week for a packed house is a normality. This helped me perfect my craft.